Friday, October 31, 2014

Milestones: Mason can CRAWL! I was shocked when he started army crawling at 5.5 months. He [army] crawls all over the place now and crawls to get to specific toys, it's so cute! He also can sit unsupported now. I still don't trust him 100% so I usually put the boppy around him or sit right by him in case he wobbles and tips over. If we put him next to something he'll hold on and can stand for a few seconds but he's still pretty shaky.

Mason was baptized this month!

Mason also started "solids" this month! (see below)

Sleep: Mason does great overnight. I typically do his last feeding around 7:30/7:45 and he goes to bed after that. If you rock him to sleep and try to set him in his bed he will bear hug your arm and hold on for dear life, it's hilarious! He usually wakes up to eat in the 4/5am hour but there are nights when he sleeps all the way through until 6 or 7! He takes 3 naps a day and his morning nap is usually his best nap. The evening nap is tricky because it's right before dinner time, Carson is energized from his nap, and there's always a lot going on. He's still napping in the swing and sleeps in his PNP or crib overnight. He's not interested in napping in the crib yet so I'm glad he's a peanut and the swing still works for us! I'm trying not to stress about transitioning him...yet!

Best Moment: Definitely watching him start to crawl. It's so much fun to see him go for something he wants. If Carson is in the room Mason is always right by his side. He crawls to him immediately to see what he's doing.

Health: Mason started Prevacid for his reflux right after turning 5 months. It definitely seems to help but he still spits up frequently. It's just less volume now. We first got our medicine from Kroger and it was flavored with grape and Mason wasn't a huge fan. We switched to CVS and they flavored with strawberry and he seems to really like it! He's in the 3rd percentile and the doctor said we aren't in the "red zone" yet but we're in the yellow. We just don't want him to fall off the growth chart. As far as developmental health, the doctor is very pleased and said Mason is reaching 8-9 month milestones! :)

Eating: Mason nurses every 3 hours for about 15 minutes. He can be super distracted so sometimes it's a little hard to get him to nurse long enough. He still has no interest in bottles. We started solids this month and Mason loves his oatmeal! He grabs at the spoon and pulls it toward his mouth. For some reason in my head I was thinking solids would help chunk him up but the doctor suggested to continue nursing as much as possible since breastmilk is more calorie rich than baby food. Mason gets oatmeal for dinner every night and we still have just as many nursing sessions. He gets a sippy of water with his oatmeal just to practice. He rarely drinks any but sometimes he'll get a little sip.

Sizes: Mason fits perfectly in 6 month outfits. I even unpacked his 9 month clothes a few days ago and some of those fit as well. He's long and skinny so some of his pants are big around the waist but they're highwaters! :) He's in size 2 diapers still. Target brand and Pampers seem to work the best on our skinny guy. He is already SO wiggly during diaper changes, he constantly wants to flip onto his tummy!

Things I want to remember: Mason is so happy! He's almost always smiling. He is super ticklish under his arms and by his collar bone and will crack up. He is starting to LOVE playing peekaboo and will giggle when we play. He loves to touch things and feel the texture. Mason loves baths and splashes SO much water out of the tub. I'm still using the infant tub since I don't fully trust his sitting abilities quite yet but soon we can start using the inflatable tub IN the big tub and it will save my bathroom from being flooded!

Favorite Toys: Mason loves little toy cars. We have a few that are specific for babies but he always wants to go for his brother's toys. Carson is pretty good about taking his toy back (ha!) and replacing it with one of Mason's. Mason also loves anything he can chew on (in his book, that is literally anything)! He's a big fan of almost any teether I give him. He also loves books and is really into "Baby Colors" right now. He loves looking at the babies and reaching out and touching their faces. He has a lot of fun with his piano playmat now that he can sit up and play the piano like a big boy!

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Nicknames: Mase, Mase-a-roo, Roo, Roo-Roo, Roodles, Mase-a-Doodle, BrotherMilestones: Mason learned so much this month! He rolls both ways now and almost always wants to be on his tummy. If you put him down on his back he immediately rolls to tummy. He also can sit supported in a tripod stance and loves being able to look around like that. He also learned to pivot while on his tummy so that he can face whatever direction he wants. He will pivot around to get toys or to see things on the other side of the room, it's so cute!

Mason went to his first movie at the theater this month! We went to a "Mommy & Me" flick with Carson and Daddy. We saw "Rio 2" and Mason did great. He got a little sleepy toward the end and Nick rocked him in the car seat.

Sleep: Mason is on the "EASY" schedule. He takes about 3 naps a day and seems to do well with a routine. At this point he usually is ready for a nap after being up for about 2 hours. The nap we have the most trouble with is his early evening nap. It's right around Carson's dinner time and Mason never can figure out if he needs to eat or sleep. When he wakes up it's too early for his last feeding, but he's in that eat-activity-sleep schedule so he's ready to eat again! We're figuring it out. He loves sleeping on his tummy and he has fully transitioned to the PNP/crib for overnight. He still takes naps in the swing and loves it! It's just a lot easier with Carson to have Mason in the swing for naps.

Best Moment: Mason has really discovered his big brother this moth. He LOVES watching what Carson is doing! Now that he has learned to pivot around while on his belly, he will pivot so that he can see Carson at ALL times! He also smiles really big when Carson walks up to him. :)

Health: Mason's spit up is crazy. I'm constantly in a sea of laundry and he spits up after pretty much every feeding. Sometimes it's just a little but sometimes it's a ton. The good thing is that he doesn't seem to be in pain. I have an appointment scheduled with the doctor since he's such a peanut...I want to make sure he hasn't fallen off the growth chart!

Eating: Mason eats every 2.5-3 hours for about 15-20 minutes. He still likes his milk "straight from the tap" and isn't a fan of bottles. We haven't had a real need to give him the bottle so I'm not forcing it since it just stresses everyone out.Sizes: Mason can still fit in 3 month clothes but I also upacked his 6 month clothes because his jammies were getting too short for his long body! We started with just 6 month jams and then about a week later I decided to try on a onesie and it fit perfectly. I swear I'm in denial every time he moves up a size! He also moved up to size 2 diapers. We have to overlap the flaps a lot, but he was blowing out of size 1's and nobody wants that! He's using about 6-8 diapers a day.

Things I want to remember: Mason is such a happy baby! He loves watching his brother and is almost always sucking on his fingers. He is super ticklish under his arms and under his chin/near his collar bone. He loves blankies and his face lights up when you give him one while he's in the swing or car seat. I can't wait for the day that he can sleep with one in bed! He loves pulling on Mommy's hair and clothes. When he nurses, he likes to gently squeeze my arm with his little hand. <3 Mason still prefers Norah Johns over traditional lullabies at night when he's going to bed.

Favorite Toys: Mason loves his jumperoo! He can't quite reach the floor yet so we usually put a pillow or box under his feet so he can bounce a bit. He also loves tags on toys/blankets and will find the tag and suck on it. He loves books and lately has been really into "Baby Colors"....he even reaches out to help turn the pages! He's still into crinkle toys, his piano playmat, and mirrors!

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Nicknames: Mase, Mase-a-roo, Mase-a-roodleMilestones: Mason will reach his arm out to grab a toy that's near him now! He giggles, shrieks, and squeals. He does great with tracking objects and will turn his head to watch where they go. He almost always is watching big bro Carson! Mason learned to roll over this month (tummy to back) at 16 weeks. He also rolls from back to side a lot, but hasn't quite figured out how to get all the way to his tummy. He's a pro at tummy time and is always up on his elbows with his head held high...he actually seems to enjoy tummy time! He definitely recognizes faces now and his face lights up for Mommy, Daddy, and Carson! Mason also found his feet this month! He loves holding on to them and even putting them in his mouth sometimes.

Sleep: We've finally started to get on a little bit of a schedule! I used the "EASY" schedule with Carson so I decided to do the same with Mason. EASY stands for Eat-Activity-Sleep-"Your" Time. I'll do another blog post on this soon! Thanks to the EASY schedule, Mason is pretty good about napping 3ish times a day. He usually naps in the swing, rock'n'play, or car seat (when we're out and about). Once we have his schedule nailed down I'll start the transition to the crib. He gets his last feeding between 7:30-8:30pm and goes down to bed shortly after (almost always before 9pm). Most nights he sleeps through the night (WOOHOO) and wakes up around 6-7am.

Best Moment: Every time Mason rolls over he has this look of surprise like "What just happened?!" It's so cute! I also love seeing him play in the mirror and talk to himself. It's great to see his face light up when I get into his line of vision, too!

Health: Mason's spit up just depends on the day. Some days we'll have great days with minimal spit up, other days he goes through 5 outfits. It's definitely much improved!

Eating: Mason nurses 5-6 times a day, typically for about 20-25 minutes. He's not a huge fan of bottles but that's probably because we rarely give them to him. When I say rarely, I think he's had 4 or 5 attempted bottles ever. I feel fortunate that at this point, we don't need to give him bottles. Sizes: Mason can still fit in most 0-3/3 month clothes, but we've started transitioning to 3-6/6 months. His jammies are definitely 6 month size because he's too long for the 3 month size! He's still wearing size 1 diapers. We tried switching to 2's and I had to majorly overlap the little flaps. Skinny buddy! I'm thinking he might be ready when we're done with our current box and we'll just overlap for now. He goes through about 6-7 diapers a day.

Things I want to remember: Mason actually is starting to love tummy time! I think it's largely in part to a mirror we put in the playroom so he can watch himself play. He's still a total blankie baby and loves holding onto soft things. He sometimes will be fussy and restless and then when I give him a blankie (A&A) he immediately calms down and starts to drift off. It's so cute! I need to get a few little A&A lovies! Mason is SO happy and will almost always give me a huge open mouth smile when I walk up to him. He is a great baby and we can even put him down for the night while he's awake and he'll slowly drift off to sleep. Sometimes he needs rocked with some music, but who can complain about that?! Mason has decided he is not a paci baby and he loves to suck on his fingers. They're in his mouth probably 70% of the time!

Milestones: Mason is on the verge of giggling and his coos are starting to turn into little shrieks! Mason has also started grasping all kinds of toys. He loves grabbing the dangling toys on his playmats and his monkey bouncer. He also can grab his o-balls now and holds onto them for a while.

Loving Dixie kisses!

Sleep: Mason is awake a LOT during the day! Occasionally he'll take a great nap and then other days he survives on a lot of little cat naps. We get a lot of comments about how alert he is and how often he's awake. He has started sleeping through the night (YAY!) but not every night. If he wakes up, it's usually only once around 3-4am. He's still sleeping in the rock and play next to our bed but some nights we put him in the pack'n'play next to our bed. He doesn't hate the flat surface, but definitely does better in the rock and play. For naps I've been putting him in his crib when possible but he also naps in his rock and play and swing.

Best Moment: Mason has started smiling in response to his big brother and I love the interaction! I also love hearing Mason's little shrieks and I know he's SO close to giggling!

Health: Mason's spit up has gotten much better. He still spits up almost every time we put him in the car seat and probably after about 50-60% of his feedings. Sometimes it's a big volume and other times it's just a little. I'm glad it's improving because we were going through way too many outfits and burp cloths!

Eating: Mason nurses 6-7 times a day, usually for about 20 minutes. He had his first bottle this month! He's now had 4 bottles. The first bottle wasn't very fun for him, I think he got frustrated. The second attempt we used a Playtex with the NaturaLatch nipple and he did great! We used the same bottle for his 3rd and 4th bottle feedings and one went well and one did not. I think we will probably practice more this next month but we haven't had any major reason to bottle feed yet.Sizes: Mason is still in 0-3/3 month clothes and size 1 diapers. His 3 month sleepers are starting to get short but he still has plenty of room in his 2 piece outfits. He goes through about 6-7 diapers a day.

Things I want to remember: Mason isn't a fan of tummy time! He has rolled from his tummy to back two times when I put him down for tummy time! I think it was a fluke because he hasn't rolled again. :) He is able to lift his head high but usually he just puts his face into the blanket/playmat and whines. I always feel so bad so I end up flipping him over! We're working on different techniques so he can strengthen those neck muscles! He still loves holding onto his blankies while he's resting. He is SUCH a happy baby and always gives me a huge smile when I get up close to him. He has a fussy period each evening around 8-9pm before he falls asleep. He has so much fun on his piano playmat and monkey bouncer. We've tested out the bumbo a few times but he's still a bit too small. He loves riding in the car and will sometimes cry at stop lights and quiet down as soon as we start moving again. He isn't very into pacifiers anymore and will usually spit it right out if we try to give it to him. He does try to suck on his fingers and hands a lot though! I also love the way Mason's little ears stick out. It's so adorable!

Milestones: Mason smiled for the first time this month and now he smiles ALL the time and he also coos at everything! He also finally had his first real bath with water in the tub! We had been doing sponge baths still. He loved splashing around with his legs!

Sleep: Mason still naps throughout the day whenever he's tired. He normally naps in the rock and play or the swing but sometimes he'll nap on a blanket on the floor. At night he wakes up twice to eat. He usually wakes up around 11pm/midnight and again around 4-5am.

Best Moment: Seeing Mason's first smile!

Health: Mason is still spitting up quite a bit but since he's gaining weight, the doctors aren't worried. He seems happier after eating now so I'm hoping he isn't in pain and he's just a "spitty" baby!

Eating: Mason nurses about 8 times a day and his sessions are usually about 15-20 minutes. He still hasn't had a bottle!Sizes: Mason moved into 0-3/3 month clothes! He still has a few newborn outfits he can fit into as well...such a peanut! A lot of the 3 month clothes are still too wide but the newborn clothes were getting way too short for him...he couldn't fully extend his legs in NB sleepers anymore! He just moved into size 1 diapers before turning 2 months! He goes through about 8 diapers a day.

Things I want to remember: Mason loves his piano playmat and monkey bouncer! He is starting to bat at toys and can even hold onto his o-ball for a few seconds if we help him get a grip on it. He is constantly kicking his legs and people always comment how he's always moving! He also LOVES blankies. He loves to snuggle his Aden and Anais blankets. He also loves being outside in the warm weather. He has started to really take to his pacis and still prefers the "soothies" and his doggy wubbanub. Sometimes when he's fussy, he'll immediately calm down if we step outside. Mason's hair has a little swirl in the back and it's super cute! I hope it stays that way!

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Mason turned 1 month on May 15th! I know I'm EXTREMELY behind, but I drafted this post back in May and I want to publish this so I can remember everything! <3

Age: 1 month

Height: 21.75" (47th percentile)

Weight: 8lbs 7oz (17th percentile)

Milestones: Mason has started to coo and it's the cutest thing ever!

Sleep: Mason loves sleeping and still sleeps a lot during the day! He loves sleeping on Mommy's chest and in the Ergo! Overnight he sleeps in his rock and play next to our bed and he usually wakes up 2-3 times to eat. During the day he naps whenever he's tired....usually on Mommy, in the swing, or in the rock and play! We tried swaddling a few times but he seems to prefer no swaddle.

Best Moment: I love hearing him coo and having him fall asleep on my chest!

Health: Poor Mason seems to have a bit of acid reflux and he gets fussy after feedings and almost always spits up. Luckily he's happy after he spits up, but I feel so bad that he might be in pain! He's still gaining weight so the doctors don't want to intervene with medicine at this point.

Eating: Mason nurses about 9-10 times a day for about 20-30 minutes a session. He hasn't had a bottle yet. We had some trouble with his latch initially and I don't want to mess that up! Sizes: Mason is wearing newborn clothes and newborn diapers! He goes through about 10 diapers a day!

Things I want to remember: Mason loves the white noise app on my phone and really loves the vacuum sound! He also loves when we "shush" to help him fall asleep. He loves sucking on Mommy's finger to relax. He has a fussy period every day just like his big brother, but Mason's fussiness is less predictable than Carson's! Mason loves when I rub his cheek or forehead with my fingers.Here are a few pictures from our weekly photo shoots during Mason's first month: